One week after the events set in motion by King Sombra’s plan to defeat Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Canterlot was finally able to return its peaceful day-to-day life. Much of it was still damaged from the attacks by the corrupted ponies, and workers had to be called in from every corner of Equestria in order to fix it. Not to mention the number of ponies that were in the hospital from the attack. Thankfully, there were no casualties, thanks to the efforts of the Royal Guard, but there were still a good number of ponies that had sustained injuries.
Feathermay skipped through the streets, humming a tune as she carried a couple of bags of debris on her back. She was currently helping the reconstruction efforts of the business district, mostly because that was where her store was, but also because a friend of hers also worked there.
After reaching the dumping area outside of Canterlot, she unloaded the two bags and emptied them out into the pile. As she wiped the sweat off her brow, a pony next to her offered her a bottle of water. “Ah, thanks,” she said as she took the bottle and drank it quickly. “Aah, refreshing!”
“You sure have helped us out an awful lot,” the buff stallion said, moving closer to Feathermay and giving her a toothy grin. “You’re a lot stronger than ya look, Ms. …”
“Feathermay. And sorry, but I have plans today,” she said, seeing where the conversation was going. The stallion looked disappointed for a moment, before Feathermay giggled and turned away. “But, I’m free tomorrow, if you wanna do lunch then. I’ll warn you, though: I don’t come cheap.”
The stallion guffawed at her response. “I think I can handle it! So, tomorrow at noon?”
“Sounds good,” Feathermay said. “I’ll be waiting by the city’s gates. Don’t be late.” As she walked away, Feathermay turned her attention to the clock tower in the distance. “Another date tomorrow… But first, I’ve got an important date today. One I absolutely can’t miss.”
“Hey Fritter, seconds over here!”
Apple Fritter turned and scowled at Red Delicious, who simply gave a drunken laugh at her annoyed expression. “No seconds! We all get the same amount, y’hear?!”
“Ya ask me, y’all should get more,” Breaburn said, standing beside Apple Fritter as he helped her to distribute the food to the citizens of Appleoosa. “You’ve been slavin’ away in that kitchen all on yer own, ever since our previous cooks had that lil’… incident, with the microwave.”
“I can’t do that,” she said, giving her cousin a warm smile. “And besides, I’m happy ta cook for all of ya. Ye’re all family ta me, an’ I wanna help however I-” Apple Fritter gasped as she noticed the clock tower standing behind Braeburn. “Oh no! I didn’t realise how late it was!”
Braeburn gave her a confused look for a second, before he remembered that she had plans today. “… Well, y’all best get movin’ then.”
“But I-”
“No buts,” he said in a stern tone. “Ah can handle this on mah own. You need ta get over to Canterlot an’ meet yer friends. Now go on, before y’all miss the train.”
Apple Fritter stared in awe for a second, before smiling and removing her apron. “Well then, I’ll try ta come home as early as possible tomorrow mornin’!”
“No rush!” Braeburn shouted after Apple Fritter began to take off. “Ah know mah way ‘round a kitchen, trust me!”
Apple Fritter managed to get to the train station just in time, and boarded the train mere moments before it closed its doors. “It’s been one week since I saw everypony… I hope they’re doin’ alright…”
Spitfire raised an eyebrow as Lightning Dust landed in front of her, foreleg raised as she saluted the Captain. “Ma’am, all clouds cleared as ordered, ma’am!”
“… And in record time, too,” Spitfire said, looking at her stopwatch. “But you were a little sloppy with your movements up there. It’s been like that for the past week now. What gives, cadet?”
“… Forgive me, Captain. I can’t give an answer for that.”
“Well, if you ask me, I think you’re focussing too much on time, and paying less attention to the quality of your work.” Spitfire sighed and lowered her shades. “Listen, I’m probably the last pony you’d expect to hear this from, but speed isn’t everything. It means nothing if you pass the finish line first, if you hit all the hurdles on the way.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, ma’am.”
“Well then, wanna give it another go? You’re technically free to go, but we still have plenty of time left to kill.”
Lightning Dust looked up at the clock tower in the distance. “Actually, if it’s alright with you, ma’am, there is somewhere that I need to be right now. I’d also like to request the rest of the day off.”
Spitfire raised an eyebrow at that. “We have team drills later this evening. Dash can’t compete without her partner, y’know?”
“… I understand, ma’am, and I will be more than willing to accept whatever punishment you give me for cutting class.”
Spitfire had to hold back her laughter at the way Lightning Dust described it. Comparing military drills to a High School Gym class… That was just one of the things Spitfire loved about this pony. “Alright, permission granted. I’ll sub for ya today, and when you get back, you’ll have to take some make-up classes.”
Lightning Dust nodded. “Sir, yes, sir!” she shouted.
“Dismissed.” Not even a single second passed after she said that before a cloud of smoke replaced the Pegasus once standing before her, and a lightning trail shot up into the sky. “… Well, a true Wonderbolt puts her friends before herself. Even so, ‘cutting class’ is gonna result in a hefty detention for her when she gets back.” Chuckling to herself, Spitfire turned around and walked back towards he academy building behind her.
In her small house in Ponyville, Vinyl Scratch looked unsure as she sat in front of Octavia, who had her forelegs draped around the DJ mare. Vinyl wasn’t used to playing anything quieter than herself from her ‘boombox’, as she called it, so to hear the soothing sounds of classical music filling her room was a weird experience for her.
“Well?” Octavia asked as soon as the last track finished playing.
“… Fine. I guess it’s not so bad,” Vinyl said, though she had actually stopped paying attention partway through. The feel of Octavia’s fur against her back, and Octavia’s heartbeat against the side of her head both distracted her from the music.
“There, see? So, you’ll go with me to the concert next week, right?”
Vinyl sighed. She knew that, despite it sounding like a question, it was really not her choice in the mater. If she didn’t want to receive the ‘couch treatment’ for the next month, she would have to say ‘yes’. “Yeah yeah, I’ll go with you,” she said, receiving a nuzzle from the other mare, which made her smile. ‘I’ve dealt with drunken hooligans at my performances before, I can handle this.’
The silent moment was interrupted by a sudden explosion of sound that almost gave Octavia a heart attack. Vinyl looked over to her alarm clock, which was hooked up to two speakers that were now pumping out loud music at full blast.
“Oh, it’s time,” Vinyl said as she reached over to shut off her alarm clock. “We’d better get goin’, before we miss the train.”
“‘We’?” Octavia asked. “You mean, you want to me come along, too?”
“Of course. I’m sure the others won’t mind,” Vinyl said with a smile as she rose to her hooves. “Besides, even if you don’t come, they’re gonna be askin’ me all sorts of questions about ya. And if you’re not there, I’ll just have to answer all questions for the both of us.”
Octavia grimaced at the thoughts of Vinyl Scratch discussing their relationship without her supervision. Knowing Vinyl, she was unlikely to hold back any information at all. Not even the most sensitive stuff, such as…
“Well then, shall we?” Octavia asked, suddenly rising to her hooves and motioning for Vinyl Scratch to lead.
Vinyl laughed as she passed Octavia, using her magic to turn off the many electrical appliances she had on her room. “Trust me, you guys are gonna get along great together,” she said as she left the room with her marefriend.
Inkie Pie struck a matchstick against the side of the box, creating a spark and lighting it up. “You guys ready?” she asked her friends, who all nodded from a safe distance. Inkie turned back to the fuse at her hooves, and slowly brought the match down to light it.
She then ran back to where her friends were waiting for her and sat down beside them. A few moments later, the fireworks the mares had prepared started to launch, and they watched the display together with awe.
‘Well Trixie, you were right,’ Inkie thought to herself as she watched the bright flashes of light before her. ‘Help came to us three days later, but even after an extensive search, there was nopony in Canterlot who could cast that spell and travel back more than five days. If you hadn’t gone back to give yourself that warning, things may have turned out very badly for us.’
A particularly loud firework caught her off guard and startled her. She smiled again as she turned to her left, looking at her friends: Apple Fritter, Feathermay, Lightning Dust, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia.
‘You did that, knowing it would cause your death…’ Inkie then moved her head to look to her right. ‘Well, there was one thing you didn’t account for… I wasn’t about to let you die.’
“What? Is there something on my face?”
Inkie shook her head. “You’re looking a lot better. I told you that medicine would help.”
“… It still tastes appalling.”
Inkie giggled and leaned over, resting her head on her friend’s shoulder. “Princess Cadance is going to visit her tomorrow. Make sure you thank her.”
“Yes, mum.”
Inkie playfully kicked the mare’s good leg, and the two of them shared a quick laugh together. “I’m serious, though. You really were dead, but the Princess ignited the faint spark of life still left within you.”
“And you supplied your blood, knowing full well that the Princess was no doctor, and that the risks were huge.” Trixie sighed and shook her head. “Once again, you saved Trixie’s life. And you still don’t ask for anything in return?”
Inkie turned back to the fireworks display before her eyes and sighed contentedly. “Just smile,” she said softly. “That’s all you need to do. It’s all I ask of you.”
“… Honestly,” Trixie said, turning her head to look over her friends. “With friends like you, I’d have to be dead not to smile. I’ve already tried that before, and I have no intention of doing it again anytime soon.”
Another particularly loud firework went off, and Trixie turned back to the display. She was happy. She had the greatest friends in the world, who she knew would be there for her whenever she needed them, and she now knew she could trust with her life. Part of her wanted this night to last forever, but another part of her told her that was stupid… because if this night never ended, she would be unable to enjoy more night like this with the ponies that she cared for.
‘Well, I’d better get ready,’ Trixie thought to herself as she watched the last wave of fireworks launching up into the air. ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie is on after this display, after all.’